Injustice at the border: Operation Lone Star
Hear Brianna Argueta’s experience with our aid against the injustices of Operation Lone Star:
Through the plexiglass in a cramped visitation room, a young man demurely answers me as he recounts his difficult journey to the U.S. from Honduras. He's been in jail for weeks and this is the first time he's been able to ask someone about his case. It's clear that the uncertainty, limited contact with his family, and time in jail have taken a toll on him as he looks downward and speaks softly, his voice competing with the HVAC system and echoes of jail staff walking by outside.
In late September, the Restoring Justice legal team visited clients assigned to us through the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and the Lubbock Private Defender’s Office. All of our clients are migrants who were arrested by Texas law enforcement under a directive by Governor Abbott called Operation Lone Star. The stated purpose of the program is to stop drug and human trafficking but most of the people caught in the crosshairs are migrants: men, mostly their 20s and 30s who were comingto the U.S. to seek asylum or for economic opportunities in the hopes of creating a better life for themselves and their families. The vast majority of Operation Lone Star arrests are for misdemeanor criminal trespass.
From Houston we traveled to Dilley, TX to conduct client visits and quickly realized that the processes and rights our clients are entitled to were merely an afterthought for the state - the prosecution, Spanish language interpretation, jail coordination, and basic record keeping were in disarray. We were among the first group of defense attorneys to see clients in-person. Some of our clients were arrested in early August, others in early September. Upon arriving we also learned about half were detained in Edinburg, TX. Based on what we saw and heard, we are alarmed by a criminal legal system in dysfunction and by the violation of people's constitutional rights.
One of my clients, I’ll call him Carlos, is 19. He left his home country and had been traveling for months prior to his arrest. His journey was harrowing. Though he spent some part traveling by bus and train, he spent over 20 days walking all day and most of the night, in the brutal heat, and with barely any sleep. Carlos ran out of food and water while walking in the harsh sun and was separated from his friends. It was difficult, it was scary, and upon arriving in the U.S. after that arduous journey, Carlos ended up getting arrested. This was his first time trying to cross into the U.S. He has no prior deportations, no prior criminal history. And yet he has been in jail for almost 2 months due to Operation Lone Star.
A pen and ink drawing by a client. At the top is text that says “Dios protogenos” or “God protect us.”
Carlos’ experience is not uncommon. This is the kind of story that we heard over and over from our clients charged under Operation Lone Star. We traveled over 1100 miles over 4 days to border counties like Kinney and Val Verde because we recognize the importance of in-person client visits. The trust we built and the stories we heard from doing these meetings in person cannot be emphasized enough and as defense attorneys we have deep concerns. Through this experience we learned of two major problems that are occurring at the border.
Access to Counsel
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees those who are accused of crimes the right to counsel. It’s a recognition that navigating the criminal justice system requires an advocate who is an expert in the law. Appointment of counsel should be prompt - it typically happens shortly after arrest. Of the 51 people assigned to the RJ team, over 20 had been in custody for over 1 month. Arrested in early August, these folks were only appointed counsel at the end of September. That’s not how the system is supposed to work.
Typically, when I meet a client, I have the charging document, information about their bond, and information about their next court date. For Operation Lone Star, I had none of this information. There was no charging instrument for any of my cases. I didn’t know with certainty what my clients were charged with. I didn’t receive a Probable Cause Affidavit on most cases - so I didn’t know the basis for their arrest. And while I knew the bond amount in some cases, I had no information as to why the judge had reached that amount or what conditions of release the clients had to follow if they posted bond. Again, that’s not how the system is supposed to work.
Typically, when I meet a client, I have the charging document, information about their bond, and information about their next court date. For Operation Lone Star, I had none of this information. There was no charging instrument for many of our clients. I didn’t know with certainty what my clients were charged with. I didn’t receive a Probable Cause Affidavit for most cases, so I didn’t know the basis for their arrest. And while I knew the bond amount in some cases, I had no information as to why the judge had reached that amount or what conditions of release the clients had to follow if they posted bond. Again, that’s not how the system is supposed to work.
The clients I met with were confused and scared. They had no information as to what they were being charged with, how long they would be incarcerated, and why it took so long for them to talk to someone like me, their lawyer. They had no attorneys at their magistration and were asked to sign forms in English at magistration without the services of a certified interpreter.
After their arrest, they spent one night in a cell with over 10 people, laying on the ground with no mattress and only a blanket. They barely got any sleep in the cold and brightly-lit cell before being transported to the Briscoe Unit in Dilley. There the conditions were tough – they were served moldy food, they were forced to sit on benches all day. Without a commissary system their family had no way of depositing funds to buy them more food. And after being there for over a month, they were again moved to the Segovia Unit in Edinburg, which is where I met them, over four hours away from the site of their arrest.
2. Due Process
In between client visits, my colleagues went to the Kinney County Courthouse with the hopes of obtaining charging documents in our cases. There were few records in the online database and it turned out that the Clerk’s Office in the Courthouse didn’t have any accessible records of our client either.
Only by the Clerk crossreferencing a notebook of handwritten names were we able to learn that complaints were filed in only 10 of our cases. When we asked why there were no complaints filed in the vast majority of our cases, we were told that the County prosecutor was having trouble keeping up and there was no expectation as to when complaints would be filed.
Charging documents are crucial. It’s how a client formally receives notice of what they’re being charged with, and most importantly for the client, it’s the first step in justifying any deprivation of liberty. Yet for hundreds of people charged in Kinney County and in custody for over a month, no charging documents were filed.That’s now how the system is supposed to work.
I am filing a writ for release in cases where warranted, but that is neither an easy nor ideal remedy when there’s uncertainty as to when the court will actually hear the writ. It has recently taken over 2 weeks for a District Judge to hold a hearing after writs were filed under similar circumstances.
Clients asked me when their next court date was. At the time, I had no answer as we were waiting for Kinney County to set a court docket. So while clients reported seeing other people from Val Verde come and go during their time in custody, I did my best to explain that their situation was different since they’re charged in a county that has not had court. That’s now how the system is supposed to work.
Everyone on U.S. soil has Constitutional rights – it’s what makes our system and our country different from other nations.
Though most of our clients had never tried to enter the U.S. before, they weren’t simply being caught and deported by immigration authorities. Instead, the State is choosing to prosecute them, to deprive them of their liberty and keep them incarcerated in former state prisons because of their alleged violation of misdemeanor trespass laws. Despite this egregious deprivation of liberty, the State is not respecting the processes required to appoint counsel or file charges. That’s not how the system is supposed to work.
Being both a daughter of immigrant parents from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic and having family members make a journey to the U.S. similar to that of our clients is a large part of my identity. It’s not lost on me that I could be any of my clients’ daughters.
It is with my personal history and my professional experience as an attorney that I end with this message: What’s happening under Operation Lone Star at the Texas border is a serious miscarriage of justice.